Man kann (zum Tod eines Mannes) durch das Licht einer Kerze und durch das Licht des Mondes aussagen, und eine Frau kann auf der Grundlage einer Stimme wieder heiraten [(wenn sie eine Stimme schreien hören: "Dieser und dieser Mann sind gestorben ! ")] Einmal stand ein Mann auf einem Berg und rief:" Dieser Mann, der Sohn dieses Mannes, ist von diesem Ort gestorben! " Sie gingen und fanden dort niemanden und heirateten seine Frau. Ein weiterer Vorfall in Tzalmon: Ein Mann sagte: "Ich bin dieser Mann, der Sohn dieses Mannes. Eine Schlange hat mich gebissen, und ich sterbe." Sie gingen (zur Stelle), konnten ihn aber nicht erkennen; und sie heirateten seine Frau.
Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
משיאין על פי בת קול – [if] they heard [the voice] crying out that so-and-so has died.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
Introduction
This mishnah continues to discuss cases of hearsay or other less than perfect testimony about a person’s death.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
בצלמון – the name of a place.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
They may testify [even if the body was seen] in candle light or in moonlight. Even if a witness only saw the person’s body in candle light or moonlight, he may subsequently testify that he was dead.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
And a woman may be given permission to marry again on the evidence of a mere voice. It once happened that a man was standing on the top of a hill and cried, “so-and-so son of so-and-so from such-and-such a place is dead”, but when they went [to the top of the hill] they didn’t find anyone there. [Nevertheless], they allowed his wife to remarry. A “mere voice” is either an echo, or a voice heard from a large distance. In either case, if such a voice is heard saying that a certain person has died, his wife may remarry. This is illustrated in the next case, where people only hear from a distance someone say that so-and-so is dead. They never find the person who said it, so that they could interrogate him further. Nevertheless, the Sages allowed his wife to remarry.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
In another instance, at Zalmon a person declared, “I am so-and-so son of so-and-so; a snake has bitten me, and I am dying”; and when they went [to examine the corpse] they did not recognize him, they [nevertheless] allowed his wife to remarry. In this case, that happened in Zalmon (found in the lower Galilee), the person himself stated that he was about to die. He also provided his full name. By the time the witnesses found the body, it had been disfigured and was not identifiable. In any case, since he had stated his name, his wife is allowed to remarry.
